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Bloomberg Terminal Licenses

University of Ulster

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

11 Sep 2026 at 12:17

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

11 Sep 2026 at 12:09

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

The University of Ulster procured educational Bloomberg Terminal licences for on-campus access to Bloomberg’s professional financial data, analytics and news platform. The service supports non-commercial teaching, learning and academic research for enrolled students, academic staff and researchers using institution-controlled terminals. Required functionality includes global market data, company and economic analysis, portfolio analytics, data visualisation, educational resources and associated certifications. The requirement covers financial software, electronic information services and related database services. Delivery is for the University’s activities in the United Kingdom, with the buying organisation based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. The licences support finance and FinTech programmes, including integrated learning and assessment, and Bloomberg Market Concepts certification. The requirement is for services rather than goods or construction work.

The procurement has been awarded through a completed single-lot process, with Bloomberg Finance L.P. selected as supplier. The University used a direct award because it judged that only this supplier could provide the required software for technical reasons and that there were no reasonable alternatives. The award date is 10 September 2026, with a standstill period ending on 22 September 2026. The scheduled contract signature date is 23 September 2026. The contract period runs from 23 September 2026 to 3 December 2028. The awarded value is £258,000 gross. The award is recorded as above the applicable threshold. The procurement was evaluated on the basis of the technical single-supplier justification rather than a competitive price or quality assessment.

This requirement is most relevant to suppliers able to provide professional financial-market data, analytics and news software for higher-education teaching and research. A credible competitor would need broad global market coverage, company and economic analysis, portfolio analytics, data visualisation, terminal-based institutional access and supporting educational resources. The University’s use case also demands integration with finance-programme learning and assessment, support for FinTech development, and delivery of recognised platform-based certification. Suppliers would need to demonstrate that their platform can support enrolled students, academic staff and researchers in a controlled campus environment, with sufficient functionality for teaching and academic research. Experience working with universities and finance schools, training for academic users, and the capacity to support a large institutional software deployment would strengthen a future proposition.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

Bloomberg Terminal Licenses

Notice Description

The requirement is for educational Bloomberg Terminal licences providing on campus access to Bloomberg's professional financial data, analytics, and news platform for the exclusive purpose of non commercial teaching, learning, and academic research. The licences shall support access for enrolled students, academic staff, and researchers via institution controlled terminals, with full functionality covering global market data, company and economic analysis, portfolio analytics, data visualisation, and associated educational resources and certifications.

Procurement Information

This Direct Award to a single supplier is justified on the grounds set out under Paragraph 6 of Schedule 5 of Procurement Act 2023 where the following conditions are met in relation to the public contract. Schedule 5, Paragraph 6: The following conditions are met in relation to the public contract- (a) due to an absence of competition for technical reasons, only a particular supplier can supply the goods, services or works required, and (b) there are no reasonable alternatives to those goods, services or works. The Direct Award Contract approach is standard within the sector currently as Bloomberg Finance LP is a sole supplier of Bloomberg Professional Software. This is the main financial trading software used globally and is the most commonly used with Higher Education on related programmes. All of UUBS Finance programmes include integrated learning and assessment strategies linked to Bloomberg software, whilst the University also provides the Bloomberg Market Concept certification within academic and professional programmes (this is only available with the use of this software). The software is also essential in terms of the programme developmental process in terms of FinTech. It would be detrimental to the University's Finance programmes at all levels, including student student recruitment, if the University no longer had access to Bloomberg software as it is integral to the delivery of these programmes. Related academic staff have been trained on the software and utilise it heavily within teaching and marketing activities to Schools. Therefore, due to the above reasons, a DAC has been chosen as a compliant route to market.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06f7ed
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/086361-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

48 - Software package and information systems

64 - Postal and telecommunications services

72 - IT services: consulting, software development, Internet and support

CPV Codes

48100000 - Industry specific software package

64216000 - Electronic message and information services

72210000 - Programming services of packaged software products

72320000 - Database services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£258,000 £100K-£500K
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
11 Sep 20264 days ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
10 Sep 20266 days ago
Contract Period
23 Sep 2026 - 3 Dec 2028 2-3 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
University of Ulster
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
COLERAINE
Postcode
BT52 1SA
Postcode Area
Northern Ireland
Country
Northern Ireland
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLN Northern Ireland
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLN0 Northern Ireland
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLN0C Causeway Coast and Glens
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Causeway Coast and Glens
Electoral Ward
University
Westminster Constituency
East Londonderry

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

BLOOMBERG FINANCE L.P.

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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